


Dig Up the Bones (But Leave the Soul Alone)

by lakesandquarries



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Flustered Sans, also uh. brief description of child murder. gotta get those warnings in, flustered sans is SO MUCH FUN, flustered sans is me tbh, this is really gay, this is the happiest thing ive written so far and i still manage to make sans cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 01:26:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5355797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lakesandquarries/pseuds/lakesandquarries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans has something he needs to tell Toriel about.</p>
<p>(Post Pacifist, Toriel, Sans, Frisk, and Papyrus all live together. References some of my other fics, but can be read as a standalone.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dig Up the Bones (But Leave the Soul Alone)

_Knock, Knock._ Sans taps his knuckles on the door of Toriel's room.

"Yes?" She calls. “Who is it?”

Not the best setup, but he can work with it. "Orange," he replies.

"Oh! Orange who?"

" _Orange_ you gonna let me in?"

There's a beat, and then Toriel lets out a bleat of laughter. "The door's unlocked," she says. "And besides, you never need ask to come in. You are always welcome here," she continues, and Sans can't stop the blue blush that spreads across his face.

He takes a deep breath, preparing himself for the conversation ahead, before opening the door. Toriel's sitting at her desk, grading papers, but she swivels to face Sans as he enters. Sans hops up onto the bed, kicking his feet nervously. "So, uh, Tori, we've been," he clears his throat, feeling his face grow warm again, looking at the floor to hide it, "We've been da-dating for a while now...." Oh _God,_ did his voice seriously just crack? 

_Get a hold of yourself,_ he thinks. _You're 25 years old, you can handle talking to Toriel._ The feeling of the bed sinking beside him startles him out of his thoughts. He glances out of the corner of his eye, sees Toriel is sitting next to him, and directs his gaze back to the floor.

"Take your time, Sans," she says gently, and _oh God is her hand on his?!_ He clears his throat again, nearly sending himself into a coughing fit.

He really doesn't want to do this.

"Look, okay, we've been dating for eight months now and....there's something I should tell you," he says, words tumbling out of his mouth before he can think about them. _No no no that's a horrible way to start she's going to **hate** me-_

"Sans," Toriel is saying, "Please try to breath. What is it you need to tell me?"

He looks up, looks at her finally, looks at her warm eyes and the little curl of fur on her forehead and her fangs poking out from under her lip just slightly. "I...I..." he falters, stumbles, lets his words trail off into awkward stilted silence. 

_Look at her while you still can,_ a small vicious part of his brain whispers. _Once she knows she'll never want to see you again._

There's something wet on his cheeks.

"Sans, are you alright?" Toriel asks, voice full of concern, lifting a hand to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"I killed them!" he blurts, then claps his hands over his mouth. After a moment he removes them. "I - I was the one that killed the humans," he says, unable to stop himself. "N-not Asgore. Or Undyne, or Mettaton, or Alphys or - it was me." Her eyebrows are creased in confusion. "If you hadn't made me promise to protect Frisk...." he trails off, tearing his eyes away from Toriel’s face, not wanting to see her realise what he means. 

"Sans, that's...that's not possible," she says softly. "The first human fell twenty-six years ago. You weren't even alive then. The second one - you would have been -"

"Aging works a bit different when you're a science experiment," Sans half-whispers. Toriel doesn't respond. "I...I'm not a real monster, Tori," he says, staring down at his hands and trying very hard not to let any emotion into his voice. "You don't remember him, but there was a royal scientist before Alphys. He made me and Papyrus out of the only materials he had available. Which... happened to be human remains." His voice cracks on the last word. "So maybe I didn't kill the first human. But I'd say what I did to them is worse."

"Sans-"

"When the second human fell, Gaster made me kill them. But the third....I chose to kill them, Tori, they fought back and I still - I -" His voice breaks again, shatters, leaving him with a mouthful of knives. He can't speak for fear that he'll start crying. Beside him, Toriel is silent. 

_She's never going to want to speak to me again,_ he thinks, _She's never going to want to look at me again._

He starts talking again, quieter than before. "Gaster wanted Papyrus to kill them," he whispers. "I couldn't let him ruin my brother that way.” He spins to face her, suddenly realising something. "Don't tell Papyrus any of this," he says, sharply, "I understand if you don't want to talk to me again, if you hate me, but - but..."

Toriel is crying.

"T...Tori?"

"I - I'm sorry," she whispers. "Sans, I don't hate you. I won't tell Papyrus." She takes his hand. "Thank you for telling me."

"I should have told you sooner," he says. "Let you know that the guy you're kissing is -"

"The first person who made me feel happy in years?" she suggests. "The kindest, sweetest person I've known? Sans, I don't care if you - You could be a _snail_ and I would still want to kiss you."

He opens his mouth to speak. A squeak comes out instead.

"Sans, when I met you...I was very lonely. I was tired. There were moments that I considered...giving up. And then I met you, and I had something to keep me going. I was _happy_ , Sans, for the first time in years." She smiles at him. "Besides, you aren't the only one who's done things that regret. What matters is what you do now. And right now, I would say you're doing a lot of good."

"...Thanks,' he manages. Toriel kisses him on the forehead. 

Some part of his brain shuts down. He feels himself slide off the edge of the bed.

"....Sans? Are you alright?"

"F-fine...I-I mean, I! Uh, what I'm trying to say is..."

She giggles. He gives up on speaking.

"Would you like some help off the floor?"

"That...would be nice."

Carefully, she scoops him up, carrying him bridal style. "Sans?"

"Y-yeah, Tori?"

"I love you."

"I...I love you too....." he mumbles after a moment of wheezing. 

"Did...did you really think I would hate you for telling me the truth?" Toriel asks, placing him on the bed gently.

"I...I didn't know what to think. I was scared that you'd be...disgusted or scared or hurt that I hadn't told you earlier."

"I am, at worst, slightly confused about some parts of your story. Like...Gaster. You said he was the royal scientist before Alphys?"

"That's a long, very unpleasant story," Sans says, sprawling out on the bed. "But basically, he managed to erase himself from existence."

"I can try to wrap my brain around that another time," Toriel says, pulling Sans closer to her. "For now...I think a break would be nice."

"Yeah," Sans says, leaning his head on her shoulder. "Breaks are...always good...." he trails off.

"Sans?"

He snores.

"I suppose a nap might be nice," Toriel whispers, trying to lean over to turn off her lamp without moving Sans. He doesn't wake up, just nestles closer. Toriel can feel her shoulder starting to go numb. Her blankets are a heap by her feet. All in all, its a terrible position to fall asleep in. She does so anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> http://lakesandquarries.tumblr.com/ Crossposted on tumblr! Follow for more soft skeleton suffering


End file.
